Twice as many govt workers as manufacturing

We've Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers

More Americans work for the government than in manufacturing, farming, fishing, forestry, mining and utilities combined.

If you want to
understand better why so many states--from New York to Wisconsin to
California--are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, consider this
depressing statistic: Today in America there are nearly twice as many
people working for the government (22.5 million) than in all of
manufacturing (11.5 million). This is an almost exact reversal of the
situation in 1960, when there were 15 million workers in manufacturing
and 8.7 million collecting a paycheck from the government.

It gets worse. More Americans work for
the government than work in construction, farming, fishing, forestry,
manufacturing, mining and utilities combined. We have moved decisively
from a nation of makers to a nation of takers. Nearly half of the $2.2
trillion cost of state and local governments is the $1 trillion-a-year
tab for pay and benefits of state and local employees. Is it any wonder
that so many states and cities cannot pay their bills?

Every state in America today except
for two--Indiana and Wisconsin--has more government workers on the payroll
than people manufacturing industrial goods. Consider California, which
has the highest budget deficit in the history of the states. The not-so
Golden State now has an incredible 2.4 million government
employees--twice as many as people at work in manufacturing. New Jersey
has just under two-and-a-half as many government employees as
manufacturers. Florida's ratio is more than 3 to 1. So is New York's.